What's in the Box? Today We're Reviewing The Sure Petcare FELAQUA CONNECT Smart Water Fountain and Hub

Welcome to

Wunderpurr greetings fabulous furiends

Today we're sharing one of our *sponsored posts with mew from the fabulous peeps at Sure Petcare, who asked us if we'd like to try and review one of their latest innovations, the: 

FELAQUA CONNECT & Hub

And as we're all for keeping our hydrations level up at BBHQ, we said we'd love to share our experience with our readers.

So let's show mew what was in the box.

Here's a bit of info about the fountain as supplied by the manufacturer:

FELAQUA CONNECT - a unique water delivery and drinking monitoring system for cats.  FELAQUA CONNECT, designed in collaboration with leading veterinary behaviourists, allows cat owners to keep track of their cats’ daily water intake via the SURE PETCARE App, while the smart water delivery system provides the cat with a source of fresh water. 

 

Each cat is registered to FELAQUA CONNECT via their microchip. FELAQUA CONNECT integrates with the SURE PETCARE app via a Hub, which allows the App to “talk” to the device and record the registered cat’s drinking behaviour such as which cat drank, what time it drank, and how much it drank.  It also provides reports on the cat’s overall drinking patterns on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.  With this information, cat owners can easily detect any changes in their cat’s drinking patterns. The SURE PETCARE App also sends reminder notifications to fill the reservoir of FELAQUA CONNECT when the water is low, and water freshness reminders to encourage cleaning of the device. 

 

FELAQUA CONNECT has several cat-friendly features, including a wide, shallow bowl that mimics a natural puddle and presents water in a way that is more appealing and easier to drink than from a conventional bowl.  The bowl is also water repellent causing the water to bead - in the same way that water stands up on a newly polished car - making it reflect and glisten and be more attractive to cats.

 

The water is kept fresh in an air-tight, gravity-fed reservoir that releases water into the bowl as it is needed. Because the device is battery powered, there are no cables or need for an electrical power source, so the device can be located in any part of the home to best meet the cat’s drinking needs. 

Sounds great, doesn't it!

Installation: 

How to set up the Felaqua Connect

Furstly, mew need to go to the app store and download the Sure Petcare app, which takes two shakes of a lamb's tail. Then connect the cat-shaped hub to your router and turn it on. While it is initialising, put the batteries into the water fountain, but don't fill it up yet. 

Next mew need to open the app; register your details, set up a password, and follow the onscreen instructions to connect the cat-hub and fountain.

As your cute cat-hub is initialising and updating, its ears glow red, and once it is connected to the water fountain its ears go green; how epic, epically epic! 

Then comes the fun part; enticing a BBHQ kitty to approach the fountain and stay long enough in close proximity for the device to recognise their micro-chip, hence the reason for not filling it with water yet. The manufacturers advise that mew put a few treats onto the empty water dish; which the P.A. did while the app was open in the ready to add a new pet mode and she waited for any kitty to turn up. Not long after, Fudge appeared, scoffed the treats in under 1 second and walked away feeling rather smug and satisfied.

Though not to be deterred by Fudge's astounding ability to have more suction than a Dyson vacuum cleaner, the P.A put a few more Dreamies on the dish, but this time spaced them around the edges so it would take longer to hoover them up, and sure enough, the Ginger Dyson was back, but this time the fountain recognised his chip and registered him to the app.

This is a screenshot of the app page when he was registered. Where it says Pet Name, his microchip number appeared, but mew just edit that and then choose pet type and gender. And mew can add a photo too.

Once the initial profile is saved, mew can then add further info such as age, weight etc...

So after adding Melvyn, Smooch and Pandora, The P.A. hit a bit of a stumbling block as Parsley's chip wasn't recognised aftur multiple attempts. We're not sure why, but at his next vet visit, we'll get them to check his chip is ok and then try again. And as for Amber, we'll just say crotchety and non-compliant, old age cats hey, at least she's consistent! MOL

Once your pet/s are added mew can fill the fountain reservoir, which is very easy, and once filled, simply slot in place above the water dish, and it dispenses a small amount into the dish and automatically tops up as and when required by thirsty cats, keeping things fresh and clean. The water dish design is also wide and shallow, so there's no whisker-squashing while drinking.

As we've got four B Team memfurs are registered to the fountain, this is the really nifty part; each time they visit the fountain for a drink, it is logged and then daily charts are available within the app to show exactly when and how much water is consumed by each kitty on a daily basis. Talk about a supurr smart fountain; this is incredible.

Here is Melvyn's early chart aftur we'd set it up, and when mew tap the small grey squares, a pop-up appears with the exact amount of water consumed and the time it took to consume said water, plus the precise time the drink took place.

And the app can track days, weeks and months for each pet registered.

ASTOUNDING!

Our closing thoughts

This has to be one of the best inventions ever.

Melvyn and Fudge adore it, even queuing and taking turns to have a little lap.

Clean up

Furstly let's talk about cleaning, which is supurr impawtant to a busy cat pawrent; this fountain is really easy to clean. The main unit in white can be simply wiped down with a damp cloth, and the reservoir and dish can be washed quickly in warm soapy water. So it gets top marks for a supurr easy clean, and what's even better; there are no pumps to clean and no extra filters to buy as the water remains purrfectly clean in the reservoir.

Ease of initial set up

Apart from Parsley's chip not being recognised - which has nothing to do with the fountain - and Amber's complete non-compliance (but then mew all know she's just a crotchety old lady cat), it was extremely easy and very intuitive, just follow the simple instructions in the app and it takes minutes to be up and running. Don't furget to put the treats around the edge of the dish when registering a kitty, it'll take them longer to eat and more chance of connecting to the app furst time.

The fountain uses 4 x C Cell LR14 batteries, and as long as it's in range of the cat-hub mew can put it anywhere and it's cable-free too, so there's no trip hazard for your pawrents - which is a huge plus here given the P.A.'s uncanny ability to trip-up on a flat surface! MOL

Monitoring water consumption

This is the best bit ever, especially if mew're dealing with veterinary issues which need careful monitoring. If this is the case, we would suggest removing all other water bowls or fountains from around the home and having this as your sole water supply; that way, mew will have a completely accurate log of events and how much water has been drunk and by who if mew are a multi-pet home. To see and track the total water consumption of each registered individual B Team memfur is really incredible, an invaluable tool for hydration health.

Why we 💙 it 

It wurks with one cat or multiple cats, so purrfect for all sized pet families. It is also ideal for our smaller K9 furiends too, so if mew've got a kitty and K9 family, mew can keep tabs on everyone's hydration levels. 

It is also a really nice looking fountain, with a neat footprint or we should say pawprint, it's very stable and would fit in easily with any decor and look supurr cool.

In summary, this is the most epically epic water fountain we've trialled to date, and if your pawrents love to track things, for instance, if they wear a Fitbit or iWatch or similar to monitor their own health/workouts/habits, they will love being able to track mew too.

This is a Totally Top Paw Product for cats and K9's, and is loved by The B Team.

We would like to say a special thanks to the pawesome peeps at Sure Petcare for giving us the oppurrtunity to try out their ameowzing Felaqua Connect and Hub ~ THANK MEW FURRY MUCH!

Visit Sure Petcare online:

www.surepetcare.com

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Many thanks for joining us today, and don't furget to stop by tomorrow when we will be here with the grand finale of Fast, Furry & Dangerous, one of our most epically exciting adventures ever, and if mew missed any of the previous episodes, click here to go and catch up. And if mew missed Basil's birthday celebration and giveaway, click here to join in the fun!

Until tomorrow, 

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team xx

*FYI: Even though we were given this item/s free of charge for a review, our review is completely honest and reflects our own experience with the product/s

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What's in The Box at BBHQ? featuring The MiauStore Ceramic Water Fountain

Welcome to

Wunderpurr greetings fabulous furriends

Today we're sharing one of our *sponsored posts with mew from the fabulous peeps at...

image@Miaustore 

www.miaustore.com/uk

...who contacted us and asked if we'd like to try their latest ceramic water fountain, well young Fudge was ecstatic, as mew know he loves water!

In fact, he loves water so much we think he was a goldfish in a previous life, that and he has the same memory capacity - 3 seconds and then it's gone! MOL 

But seriously, it is most impawtant to drink plenty of water, as mew know us kitties can get CKD - Chronic Kidney Disease - and no purrdy wants that. So offuring a variety of 'watering holes' around your home is always a good thing and will encourage more daily fluid intake.  And don't furget to change normal water bowls daily as who wants to drink out of yesterdays bowl?

We also only have filtered water, as the water in our area is a little hard and tastes so much better for filtering. So do try your kitty with filtered water or bottled water if mew think they don't like regular tap water.

Now on with the review...

What was in the box?

But seriously, this is what was really in the box!

The installation:

Putting it together was furry easy, although the company recommend that mew watch their YouTube Video before you do. The P.A. who's not one fur reading instruction manuals or the like, relies on her intuitive capabilities and 9/10 she gets it right.  She did go look at the video aftur just to double-check that it was right and it was, so she needn't have bothered.

As it only came with a European plug - see pic above - we had to get our travel adapter out.  Finding that actually took longer than the unboxing and install! MOL 

Doesn't it look good?

The Test:

Fudge got his shy head-on and wouldn't let us film him - we tried 6 takes before this one, obviously they didn't make it into the final cut, and luckily Parsley was waiting patiently in the wings as he loves water fountains too!

 So as the newly installed fountain bubbled and burbled away, Parsley moved in and took offur like the purrfessional that he is!

 

Our closing thoughts:

We just love this, the P.A. loves it too, as there are no filters to buy like our old Catit water fountain.  

Though we suggest that mew find the right place fur your fountain furst as it is quite heavy when full, so fill up once mew've found the purrfect spot.

The company suggest that mew wash and refill effury couple of weeks, though we usually do this weekly on a Caturday.  Cleaning takes just a few minutes in some hot, soapy water, then dry, replace on the floor and fill up. And don't furget to check the water level regularly and top up as necessary.

It is not noisy and mew can't hear the pump running at all, in fact it sounds more like a regular water feature, a most relaxing vibe and as it's a nice looking bit of kit too, mew have no purroblem placing it anywhere in your home and it looking good.

So if mew're in the market fur a water fountain, we highly recommend this one, as there are no filters to buy [yes we said that already, we're just making sure mew're paying attention! MOL], clean up is a doddle and your kitties will thank mew fur it as they'll be drinking more and feeling hydrated.  Also another huge plus is this:

90-day Acceptance Guarantee: If your cat does not drink from the cat fountain, you can send it back and get a full refund.

What have mew got to lose?  And mew have a choice of colours to match your decor, mew can't get better than that!

We give the MiauStore Water Fountain 10/10, it's a really great product.

We would like to say a special thanks to the pawesome peeps at MiauStore fur giving us the oppurrtunity to try out their fabulous water fountain ~ THANK MEW FURRY MUCH!

Visit MiauStore online:

www.miaustore.com/uk

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Many thanks for joining us today and don't furget to stop by tomorrow fur our usual Sunday Selfies post.

Happy Caturday

Basil & The B Team

*FYI: Even though we were given this item/s free of charge for a review, our review is completely honest and reflects our own experience with the product/s

Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com and www.pizap.com

Top Tips For Cat Pawrents ~ Part IV ~ Ideas To Keep Your Cat Hydrated and Cool In Hot Weather **PLUS** Fudge Makes Frozen Tuna Treats ~ What's The Verdict?

Welcome to 

Top Tips For Cat Pawrents

Today we're re-sharing Part IV of our Top Tips series.

If mew're new to being cat staff, then maybe there are a few things mew haven't thought about, and we're here to point mew in the right direction, so mew get the lowdown on top tips which we've gathered from over 25 years experience. And whether mew're a single cat pawrent or multi-cat pawrent, there could be something here for mew.

At BBHQ, there have always been 6 cats living here, so we're quite the experts on living in a multi-cat household, and before that when the P.A. lived in the city, she only had one kitty, so we have insight on that too.

And for those seasoned and veteran cat staff and our friends and regular readers, do feel free to add more tips and suggestions on today's subject in the comments as...

We're cats helping cats!

This week's 

 is all about 

Ideas to Keep Your Cat Hydrated and Cool ~ Especially In Hot Weather

As the U.K. is in the midst of a ten-day heatwave we thought we'd share a couple of tips we use at BBHQ to keep as cool as pawsible as most homes in the U.K. don't have air conditioning. Plus we're sharing ideas to help your kitty stay hydrated and how to encourage water consumption.

From our experience, it's always a good idea to have multiple bowls available in different locations around the home. Though obviously not where they would pose a trip hazard. And the amount of bowls available is really dependent on how many kitties mew have.

Keeping the water fresh is also a good practice to get into. A daily bowl and water change is ideal, as who wants to drink yesterday's water in a dirty bowl or dish? Not us.

And mew may have to try the bowl/s in different places, though ideally not placed in high traffic areas of your home. The quieter, the better is what we've found at BBHQ, and while we do have a couple of water fountains running, there are also two bowls available, which increases to three when it gets hotter.  

We've found at BBHQ, we cats like different options. We like to make our own choices and to explore all the alternatives. For instance, Smooch loves the ceramic water fountain, while Parsley likes the ceramic bowl in the laundry, Pandora likes the same as Parsley, Melvyn likes the fountain in the catservatory and Amber drinks from all of the aforementioned. Fudge loves the kitchen tap - see below - although he's straight to a clean bowl that's just been filled.

Water Fountains

Does your kitty love to drink from the tap/faucet? As we just said, Fudge loves to drink from the tap; check him out on Instagram.

And given Fudge's love of standing next to the kitchen sink waiting eagerly for the water to flow, we've been lucky to review several water fountains over the years to see if he prefers those to the tap, and mew can check them out here:

Felaqua Connect Smart Water Fountain

Petsafe Streamside Ceramic Water Fountain

The Drinkwell Butterfly Fountain

Miaustore Ceramic Water Fountain

Catit Senses Flower Fountain

Water fountains are an excellent way to boost your kitty's H2O levels, and given the amount available on the market today, mew're literally spoilt for choice. 

Though if your kitty does suffer from chin acne, this can be caused by plastic bowls; therefore, mew'd need something that was either stainless steel or ceramic. Plus, mew can get ones with filters and ones without, the choice is entirely up to mew. 

Obviously, the water fountains without filters are probably a more convenient option for some, and there are no ongoing purchases after buying the fountain. We've found from purrsonal experience that some with filters can become expensive.

They do need regular cleaning as with all water fountains, including the pump and filter changes if necessary, plus regular top-ups. Most are dishwasher safe, although we wash ours in the sink in hot, soapy water. 

If mew don't have a lot of time or hate to faff about with things, we would suggest sticking with a clean bowl daily. Keep it simple.

Another thing to try if mew think kitty isn't drinking enough.

Do mew live in a hard water area? Do mew like the taste of your tap water?

 Because if not, then maybe your cat doesn't really like it either. 

We use Brita filter jugs at BBHQ to filter ours, as it has a really metallic, coppery taste; old house, old pipes. 

It may be worth a try to use filtered or even bottled water to encourage more fluid intake.

An article we read ages ago somewhere suggested that mew could even add ice cubes to the water when it's really hot to promote drinking, although do make sure your kitty doesn't try to eat them. Mew could also just put the empty dish or bowl in the freezer for a few minutes to cool it down before filling, and this would gently chill the water.

If it's scorching outside, it might be an idea to keep your kitty indoors until it's cooler later in the day/evening. 

When it gets supurr scorchio at BBHQ, we keep all the blinds closed throughout the day, and the windows on the cooler side of the house in the shade remain open a touch to let the air circulate. We have fans running everywhere, and the catservatory is off-limits, as that gets far too hot.

If your kitty doesn't seem well in the heat, or mew're worried, call your vet, don't wait. It's better to make the call and talk to a qualified professional as dehydration and heatstroke can affect cats too, as well as our K9 furiends. 

Fudge Makes Frozen Tuna Treats

Fudge decided that he'd like to try the frozen tuna treats that we've seen online; these are supposed to be a good way to keep cool in the heat.

So he got in the kitchen and rustled up a batch.

What we used:

One fish-shaped ice cube tray

One small tin of tuna flakes in spring water - do make sure it's really low sodium/salt 

1/2 cup of water - ours is filtered

Small bowl + fork + teaspoon

Our tuna was a no-drain variety, so we emptied it straight into the bowl. Fudge had to sample some tuna at this point just to check it was yummy enough.

We added 1/2 cup of filtered water and then blended to break up the larger chunks.

Using a teaspoon, we began to fill the fish shapes. Fudge had to sample the consistency at this point.

Once the tray was filled, and a sprig of catnip was applied for garnish. Fudge signed it off, and it was placed in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Our Verdict:

Melvyn really enjoyed them, though Fudge wasn't too sure after all that effort; we think it was a bit cold for him. And while Melvyn was lapping it up, we wouldn't advise leaving your kitty alone with one, as it could be a choking hazard. 

It's ok while they're just licking the treat, but then Melvyn wanted to eat it as it began to melt. So the P.A. broke it up into smaller pieces, (yes Helicopter Mum! LOL). Check out the video on YouTube, or watch it below and let us know what your thoughts are.

Or have mew made these before? If so what was your experience?

Another thing we do at BBHQ to keep cool in the heat

Also, another nifty idea for keeping cats cool in the hot weather is using pet cooling gel mats.

We've had several cooling mats from various sellers on amazon over the years, and they are good. Although do be aware that they warm up and retain the heat after a while, so it's always a good idea to check them often when your kitty or K9 is sitting or reclining on one. That's why we have multiple gel mats, so they can be easily swapped out for a nice, fresh cool one.

BONUS TIP For Our Visiting Furiends In Hot Weather

If pawsible, try to leave a bowl of fresh water outside for visiting cats, strays, ferals, and even your garden wildlife, especially hedgehogs.

We also have little water dishes for the insects. Check out our post here to see how easy we make it for them to hydrate. 

And for the birds which may come to your garden or patio/terrace/balcony if mew have one, don't think mew need a fancy birdbath; we have found over the years that they prefer a large plant dish to have a splash about in. We have 2 dishes; one is approx 20" in diameter, and the other is about 16" or 50cm & 40cm. They're about 2" - 3" deep or 6 - 7.5cm. Also, a great idea is to place a couple of small rocks or stones in the dish so that smaller birds can access the water safely.  

Don't furget to clean out and often refill, as the water can go green really quickly.

The larger birds at BBHQ do like to use the pond, and the P.A. made sure that one corner was shallow enough for the birds to drink and bathe. Plus if any hedgehogs accidentally fell in, they'd be able to climb out.

Also, try to be mindful if mew have a pond, water feature or outdoor fountain etc... of what chemicals/water treatments mew use in it, as some things are not pet, bird or wildlife-friendly. 

We use a really good one here. If mew want to know more, let us know in the comments.



To catch up on previous posts in this series, visit our dedicated Top Tips page

We do hope mew enjoyed today's post, we'll be back tomorrow with a sponsored post so do join us then to see some epic custom BBHQ goodies! 

Until next time...

Wing Commander Basil and The B Team

Disclaimer: We are not vets, animal medical professionals, animal doctors or have any formal qualifications in animal health. If mew are worried or concerned about anything at all, purrlease take your feline furiend to your purrsonal veterinarian or other health care provider and seek expert advice and assistance immediately.

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